Maîtrespace
by WeeboJohns66
Summary: During a school field trip, Marinette's class meets award-winning physicist Adeline Lovellette. But when they question how science can explain Ladybug's miraculous feats, Ada second-guesses her ambitions and is akumatized into Maîtrespace, master of spacetime. Our heroes come to Paris's rescue, but to take down this formidable foe, they must develop new powers! (2/4)
1. Chapter 1

_Tap, tap, tap_ went Ms. Mendeleiev's finger on her folded arm. She glanced at her watch, then glared at the nincompoop holding up the line in front of her.

The young man half-turned and gave her a weary smile. "Sorry," he said. With professional reservedness, Ms. Mendeleiev raised her palm in conciliation. She took a deep breath once he turned back and let out a meditative sigh.

"HEY!"

She nearly crumpled at the juvenile cry bursting her moment of Zen. She whipped right around to find Alix leaping at Kim, reaching for the cap that waved gleefully above his head. The patience-pruned teacher strode past her chattering students and towards the bickering duo.

"C'mon, Kim, give it back!"

"Yeah? How you gonna make me, shortstack?"

In a blink, Kim was on the ground, shin cradled in his meaty arms and Alix was fitting her cap snug to her head.

"Enough!" Ms. Mendeleiev shouted. She stared down her unruly students who were quick to straighten up in the presence of her towering figure. "All of you, return to your assigned buddies and form two single file lines. Ms. Kubdel, you and your buddy go to the back. Kim, up front with me. I don't want to hear a sound out of any of you until we get to the demonstration. Understood?"

The students nodded, hesitantly. "Well," Ms. Mendeleiev frowned, "You could have answered that."

"Next, please!" the receptionist called. The tension in the hall dissipated as Ms. Mendeleiev finally reached the service counter.

"_Splendid_ job, Alix," Max whispered to his butt-ended buddy.

Alix crossed her arms in a huff. "He started it."

Alya grimaced as she reached her spot beside Chloé, who mirrored Alix's indignation. Rolling her eyes, Alya leaned into the blue-haired girl in front of her and said, "Well, I know _one_ girl who's happy with these developments."

Marinette didn't say anything. She couldn't say anything. Her face was frozen in a dopey, slack-jawed smile, eyes drooping in pleasure as they captured the Adonis figure before her. His shoulders were delicate, yet bold. Their slender shape accented his modest frame and he carried them with rehearsed poise. From them, like a sprout emerging from a bed of rich soil, his neck grew, blossoming into a corolla of golden locks. Marinette's eyes glazed over as she played back his latest advertising shoot in her head. _Radiant. Carefree. Dreamy._

"_Adrien…_"

"Yes, Marinette?"

In her trance, Adrien had turned to her, a jovial smile on his face. Marinette flushed red and her eyes went darting between him, his buddied buddy Nino, and her own sparkly-eyed Rose as she tried to stammer an explanation. "Oh, you're nothing—I mean _it's_ nothing. _You're_ beautiful—I mean, not beautiful, but, uh, not…_not_ beautiful?" she said, smiling with a big, uncertain shrug.

"Hmm…" Adrien pondered for a moment, Marinette's confidence slowly cracking. "What about handsome?" he suggested, innocently.

"Yeah, that's it! Handsome. You are handsome," she said proudly, until the realization set in. "_Disaster!_" she cried and collapsed into a squat. Alya and Rose kneeled to comfort their poor friend while Adrien and Nino just chuckled.

"I suppose I have my work cut out for me today."

The girls looked up. Ms. Mendeleiev returned, a map of the museum in hand. "Marinette, you switch with Chloé. The last thing I need to deal with today is flirtatious juveniles."

"Wha—" Alya started. The pair blushed, Marinette burying her face in her knees and Adrien rubbing his neck sheepishly. Once Ms. Mendeleiev was out of earshot, Alya finished, "Is she serious?"

"You heard her, Dupain-Cheng," Chloé mocked, flicking Marinette in the forehead and sending her into a frenzied dance to catch her balance. Firmly planted, Marinette scrunched her face up at Chloé's and pointed to her own eyes before snapping them towards her bratty rival.

"Mm, yeah. Whatever." Chloé smacked her hand out of the way and walked past to Adrien, leaning into his back, hands clasped to her chest, and her eyes all aflutter. He shook his head in playful disapproval.

Marinette sighed and took her spot next to Alya, who reassured her, "At least we can suffer together." They giggled. Ms. Mendeleiev motioned her class to follow and they were on their way, Alya and Marinette treated to Chloé's PDA all the while.

* * *

**A/N:** Hey, somebody made it this far! Thanks for reading :) This is my first ever fanfiction, and my only "published" piece of writing outside of school, so I hope you did enjoy. I plan this to be a 4-part story, which may take me a little while to complete as I am a pretty slow writer, but I'm super excited to see it come to life. If you are looking forward to the rest of the story as well, consider posting a review as I believe feedback will motivate me to finish the story at a quicker pace. Thanks again for taking the time to read this, and I hope you'll join me for the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello, everyone! Hello!"

The students filed into the room pair-by-pair where they were greeted by a casually dressed woman, even younger than Ms. Bustier, standing beside a trampoline-like apparatus.

"Just find a place around the tarp, any place, but do try to stick with your buddy," she said, enthusiasm laced in her every word and gesture. "And no need to be so quiet," she laughed, "We're going to have plenty of fun today!"

"Un. Likely." Chloé scoffed and turned to Sabrina for validation, except there was only Rose. "Wait, you're not Sabrina."

"No, I'm Rose!" Rose said gleefully. Chloé cringed at her sweetness and turned away, searching the room in a fruitless attempt to find the absent girl. She frowned in troubled disappointment.

"Now listen up, students!" Ms. Mendeleiev said once everyone found a place. "This is Ms. Adeline Lovellette. She is this year's recipient of the prestigious Jacques Herbrand Prize, only granted to the most brilliant of young minds, and she has personally volunteered to give this demonstration illustrating her work. You all should feel honored that—"

"Oh, come now, Ms. Mendeleiev," Adeline said, waving her hand dismissively, "No need for all that now, is there? Science is about discovery, not authority!"

Ms. Mendeleiev's lips drew tight, recognizing her own authority ended here. "Indeed. But as a matter of proper conduct, I will not tolerate any misbehavior," she said casting one last intimidating glare over the freshly scolded students.

"Your students seem very mature. I'm sure whatever problems may arise, we'll be able to solve them." Ms. Mendeleiev nodded, and stood aside.

"Ms. Lovellette?" Max raised his hand and asked.

"Please, call me Ada," she answered warmly.

"Um, Ada, what's your field of research?"

Ada clapped her hands together. "I'm so glad you asked!" She ducked beneath the tarp and returned heaving a massive bowling ball.

"Bowling?" Kim guessed. Alix scoffed from across the tarp.

"Unh-uh. Gravity," she said, dropping the ball and letting it roll to the center of the tarp, now wholly distorted by the mass's weight. "Quantum gravity, to be precise."

A soft chorus of _ah_s escaped the students.

"Sounds rad…"

"What _is_ it!"

Ada chuckled. "In order to gain an understanding of something so complex, we must start from first principles, which, in turn, requires us to glean insight from our past. Ms. Bourgeois!" She shot her arm out toward the girl, preoccupied with an uneven nail.

"Hm?" Chloé raised her eyes only, glancing to either side at her disapproving classmates. She moved her hands to her hips. "Ah, I see even Ms. Science Lady recognizes a Bourgeois when she sees one."

"Well, your name and face _were_ on the class list," Ada said matter-of-factly. Chloé's smirk vanished, burgeoning into contempt as Ada tried to reign in the class's laughter. "Now then, Chloé," she continued, laughter subsided. "Tell me, what do you think gravity is?"

"I don't very much feel like answering that question, _Adeline_," she said, turning away.

Max piped up, "Oh, but I can answer that Ms. Love—or, I mean, Ada."

"That's so sweet of you to offer, Max, but I asked Chloé what _she_ thinks, because I believe that _she_ can give me the best answer out of anyone in this room."

Chloé maintained her indignant posture, but Adrien wasn't fooled. He placed a warm hand on his friend's shoulder. "C'mon, Chlo. She really means it, I can tell."

She smiled for just a moment, then said, "It's the stuff that makes things fall. Duh."

"A perfect answer"—Chloé smirked—"demonstrating our naïveté!" And it vanished once again.

"Ex_cuse_ me?"

Adeline explained, "You _are_ correct Chloé, but your theory is incomplete. You see kids…," she reached down again, pulling out a shot put ball. "Newton discovered long ago that it's not just Earth that exerts a gravitational pull, everything does!" She dropped the shot on to the tarp, and the balls rolled toward each other, a _clink_ as they collide.

Chloé wasn't convinced. "Oh yeah? Then how come I'm not being pulled into my _darling_ Adrikins' arms right now?" she said dramatically, falling into him despite her words.

"Maybe it's because you push everything away instead," Marinette sniped instinctively. She was quick to cover her mouth, but the deed was done. The class laughed, all except for Chloé, who stared daggers at her, and Adrien, who wore a disapproving frown. She lowered her head in regret and looked away.

"I think that's quite enough students," Adeline said clapping her hands together, "Chloé raises an excellent point." She grabbed a bag of marbles from underneath the tarp and poured a handful into her palm. "The truth is, gravity is very weak, so it takes massive objects, like the Earth, to produce a significant effect. Little things"—she cast the marbles across the warped surface—"have no effect." They rolled about the tarp at the whim of the sunken masses weighing it down.

Adrien thought for a second, and then asked, "So then, I _do_ exert a gravitational pull on Chloé?" The girl in question beamed at Adrien and hugged his arm tightly.

"That's right," Adeline confirmed, "But that's not all, of course. You're also attracted to, say, Marinette, and she's attracted to you! You just can't feel it."

A calculated flurry of giggles and teases filled the room, and Adeline watched on with glee. But her smile faded when she realized the look of betrayal on the young Bourgeois' face.

"You can keep your gravity, Dupain-Cheng, I'm not sharing my Adrikins with anyone. This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!"

"I've had just about enough, Chloé!" Ms. Mendeleiev emerged from her silent corner. "Save your objections until the end of the demonstration. You're disrupting the learning for the rest of the students."

They shot Chloé frustrated glares, affirming Ms. Mendeleiev's accusation.

"Oh, that's really not necessary…" Adeline struggled to say, the tension in the room rising to volatile levels. Her eyes moved between the scornful collective of wronged faces and the lone perpetrator, goaded on by her own instruction.

"Ugh, whatever!" Chloé burst. "It's not like we need science anyway. _Ladybug_ can do anything she wants."

Adeline was taken aback upon hearing the familiar name and Marinette objected before she could respond.

"Ladybug can't do anything," she said. "She can't even fly."

"No, but whenever she captures an akuma she does her 'Miraculous Ladybug!' thing and everything goes back to normal." Chloé aimed a condescending eye at their troubled presenter. "How do you explain _that_ Ms. Science Lady?"

Adeline opened her mouth to speak, unsure of what words would escape, but Alya interrupted: "All the akuma seem to give magical powers too, like how I could teleport between phone signals as Lady Wifi."

"I went back in time when I was akumatized," Alix said, "which is pretty wicked, but shouldn't that be impossible?"

Nathaniel added, "I was even able to make my drawings come to life!"

The students' considerations crescendoed into lively reflections of their own akumatized powers, but Adeline's face dropped in contrast.

"That's it!" Ms. Mendeleiev shrieked, silencing the room in an instant. "It is clear to me that none of you have any respect for Ms. Lovellette, her work, or the practice of science as a whole. You all will apologize for wasting her time and we will not be wasting anymore of it."

"But Ms. Mendeleiev, we want to know about quantum gravity!" Max protested, the other students nodding in agreement.

"You should have thought about that before mocking her work with your childish fascination in superpowered shenanigans. Now apologize!"

The dejected class faced and apologized to Adeline who consoled the students with a pained smile.

"Don't worry children, perhaps we can continue another time."

"Please," Ms. Mendeleiev said as the students filed out of the room, "I'm sure you have more important work to do than to waste your time with this group of ingrates." She went to follow the students out but stopped at the door. "Don't overestimate children, Ms. Lovellette. They can be so cruel."

Adeline, left in solitude, pulled out a small box containing a medal ensconced in a blue, gold-embroidered cushion.

She closed her eyes. "That's not it."

* * *

In the distance, the window of the Agreste mansion observatory spiraled open and Hawk Moth was there, basking in its ominous light.

"Ah, a pursuer of truth, champion of logic and reason. But what place does science have in the face of the supernatural? The realization that one's life ambition is ultimately meaningless, now that's a well of despair my akuma can drink from."

A milky white butterfly landed on his outstretched palm and he fed it with dark energy, corrupting its angelic complexion.

"Now go, my little akuma, and evilize her!" he commanded. The blackened butterfly flew away, guided blindly by its target's distraught soul.

* * *

Adeline opened her eyes, just in time to catch a fluttering creature absorb itself into the box she held in front of her. Her head snapped forward, a butterfly-shaped mask of light adorning her face, and she heard a voice penetrate her mind.

"Greetings, I am Hawk Moth."

_Hawk Moth__…_

Adeline clasped her head, contracting her every facial muscle as to quash the voice that beckoned her.

"Do not reject me, I am a voice of reason in this unreasonable world."

Her fingers started to loosen their grip, weakening to Hawk Moth's overwhelming power.

"That's it. Now, I understand as well as you—this world of monstrous villainy and superhuman heroism—it was not meant for science. But that no longer matters, for I am granting you the power to break the laws of reality."

Adeline's hands dropped to her side.

"In return, you must help me achieve ultimate power as well. Seize Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses and bring them to me!"

"Yes, Hawk Moth."

An aura of evil bubbled around Adeline, enveloping her in malice. Hawk Moth let out a maniacal laugh upon sensing his new subordinate's malevolent emotions.

"Yes, you will be a force to be reckoned with," he declared. "An authority on physical law, a master in the domain of spacetime. I shall call you—"

The darkness surrounding her fizzled away, revealing a pitch-black, wire-framed manifestation of ideal human form.

"—Maîtrespace!"

* * *

**A/N: **Hello again, Weebo here. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Things are about to get real in this next half, so I'm going to be a bit ambitious and try to get them done by next week. Stick around and see what the "master of spacetime" can do!


End file.
